Robin Good: The Institute for the Future and the University of Phoenix have teamed up to produce, this past spring, an interesting report entitled Future Work Skills 2020.

By looking at the set of emerging skills that this research identifies as vital for future workers, I can't avoid but recognize the very skillset needed by any professional curator or newsmaster.

It should only come as a limited surprise to realize that in an information economy, the most valuable skills are those that can harness that primary resource, "information", in new, and immediately useful ways.

And being the nature of information like water, which can adapt and flow depending on context, the task of the curator is one of seeing beyond the water,

to the unique rare fish swimming through it.

The curator's key talent being the one of recognizing that depending on who you are fishing for, the kind of fish you and other curators could see within the same water pool, may be very different.

Here the skills that information-fishermen of the future will need the most:

1) Sense-making:

ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed

2) Social intelligence:

ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions

3) Novel and adaptive thinking:

proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based

4) Cross-cultural competency:

ability to operate in different cultural settings

5) Computational thinking:

ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning

6) New media literacy:

ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication

7) Transdisciplinarity:

literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines

8) Design mindset:

ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes

9) Cognitive load management:

ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques

10) Virtual collaboration:

ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team

Thanks for sharing this from Robin's stream. These skills sets could form the basis of a self-assessment for would-be curators, although they're more conceptual - than practical/tactical. Thanks for sharing and must go rescoop it with a credit you and Robin of course

The reason these software programs leave so much to be desired comes down to language. This is where natural language processing (NLP) comes into play. Artificial intelligence can grasp the meaning of simple language, and speak back to you, but it is limited by its literal interpretations of our questions. A computer can know the definition of a word, but it doesn’t understand the meaning of words within a larger context.

This research report by ACER draws upon the national Staff in Australia's School survey data that is now being collected every 3 years. One of the findings of most concern is the number of teachers working in school libraries who do not have a library qualification. Unfortunately the survey does not specifically ask whether participants hold a dual qualification in teacher librarianship. This would provide a more accurate picture of the status of teacher librarian positions in Australia's schools.

This research report by ACER draws upon the national Staff in Australia's School survey data that is now being collected every 3 years. One of the findings of most concern is the number of teachers working in school libraries who do not have a library qualification. Unfortunately the survey does not specifically ask whether participants hold a dual qualification in teacher librarianship. This would provide a more accurate picture of the status of teacher librarian positions in Australia's schools.

This research report by ACER draws upon the national Staff in Australia's School survey data that is now being collected every 3 years. One of the findings of most concern is the number of teachers working in school libraries who do not have a library qualification. Unfortunately the survey does not specifically ask whether participants hold a dual qualification in teacher librarianship. This would provide a more accurate picture of the status of teacher librarian positions in Australia's schools.

In October 2015, FAIR (Freedom of Access to Information and Resources) joined with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), ALIA Schools, Australian School Library Association (ASLA), Queensland School Library Association, School Library Association of NSW, School Library Association of South Australia, School Library Association of Victoria and the Western Australian School Library Association to seek nominations of Great School Libraries across the nation. We were looking for libraries that help children and young people find reliable information; use the information effectively; think critically; make informed decisions; work productively with others; build knowledge and understanding of the world; safely navigate the internet; communicate and share their ideas; and find great reads to meet personal interests and abilities. Nearly 600 students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community nominated their school libraries and told us why they deserved the accolade of being named a Great School Library. The campaign provided us with many different answers to the question ‘what do school libraries do’.

As a result of collecting nearly 600 nominations from students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community across Australia, who identified their school library as being a "Great School Library", FAIR analysed data from these nominations to answer the question "What do school libraries do?"

The report identified three primary drivers for school library to help achieve the best outcomes for students. These included:

Reading Giving every child a reading start and keeping them reading through their teenage years.

Digital literacy Making sure students are confident and safe users of the latest technology, media and applications.

Critical thinking and research Ensuring students understand how to access information and critically assess its rigour, quality and relevance, and helping students improve their school performance and preparing them for further education.

As a result of collecting nearly 600 nominations from students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community across Australia, who identified their school library as being a "Great School Library", FAIR analysed data from these nominations to answer the question "What do school libraries do?"

The report identified three primary drivers for school library to help achieve the best outcomes for students. These included:

Reading Giving every child a reading start and keeping them reading through their teenage years.

Digital literacy Making sure students are confident and safe users of the latest technology, media and applications.

Critical thinking and research Ensuring students understand how to access information and critically assess its rigour, quality and relevance, and helping students improve their school performance and preparing them for further education.

As a result of collecting nearly 600 nominations from students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community across Australia, who identified their school library as being a "Great School Library", FAIR analysed data from these nominations to answer the question "What do school libraries do?"

The report identified three primary drivers for school library to help achieve the best outcomes for students. These included:

Reading Giving every child a reading start and keeping them reading through their teenage years.

Digital literacy Making sure students are confident and safe users of the latest technology, media and applications.

Critical thinking and research Ensuring students understand how to access information and critically assess its rigour, quality and relevance, and helping students improve their school performance and preparing them for further education.

As a result of collecting nearly 600 nominations from students, teachers, parents, principals, library staff and other members of the community across Australia, who identified their school library as being a "Great School Library", FAIR analysed data from these nominations to answer the question "What do school libraries do?"

The report identified three primary drivers for school library to help achieve the best outcomes for students. These included:

Reading Giving every child a reading start and keeping them reading through their teenage years.

Digital literacy Making sure students are confident and safe users of the latest technology, media and applications.

Critical thinking and research Ensuring students understand how to access information and critically assess its rigour, quality and relevance, and helping students improve their school performance and preparing them for further education.

“ Educator Mia MacMeekin made this infographic about ways to inspire students to think more deeply about how innovation applies to them. It's a helpful way to begin a conversation about what it means to innovate, a word that sometimes seems to belong in the adult domain of business and is estranged from how students think about living their lives.”
Via Robyn Harrison

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Via Ana Cristina Pratas

It's not too late to order for #ISTE2015! Even though I'm gonna be there this year - I'm going to an Ashram w/ my Mom & into a digital detox for 2 weeks..... it's a GREAT thing to have for conferences!

Inserting multimedia elements to your documents make them instantly more engaging and can save you jumping from one app to another. So, the next time you want to spice up a study guide or have your students submit a multimedia document with text, images, video and more, take a look at this handy guide. Here…

There are Many Reasons Why Flexible, Active Learning Classrooms Should be Widely Adopted We’ve converted a few classrooms to more collaborative spaces over the last few years at The College of Westchester, and faculty reaction has generally been quite positive. These initial room changes have revolved around modifying the layout of a few classrooms from the row-by-row footprint of the traditional lecture room to a more interactive, group-oriented layout of round tables.

There are Many Reasons Why Flexible, Active Learning Classrooms Should be Widely Adopted We’ve converted a few classrooms to more collaborative spaces over the last few years at The College of Westchester, and faculty reaction has generally been quite positive. These initial room changes have revolved around modifying the layout of a few classrooms from the row-by-row footprint of the traditional lecture room to a more interactive, group-oriented layout of round tables.

“ Reflective practice occurs when teachers step back and evaluate the learning environment. The teacher looks at himself or herself. They ask, "How can this be better?" They identify what went right ...”
Via Robyn Harrison

“ Creating content for multiple platforms each and every day can be taxing for even the most skilled copywriter. It means coming up with fresh, interesting content constantly to provide great resources”
Via Robyn Harrison

“ One of the most significant partnerships I have in my school as an administrator is with our teacher-librarian (TL), Lisa Mueller. In recent years our library has been transforming into a Library L...”
Via Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby

Excellent article by a principal talking about how important his relationship with the school's TL is. Why? Because she embraced change and became the "go-to" person in technology and very early on saw the potential of transforming the library space into a learning commons. This is how we spread the word, folks.

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